GHY Tradelines

a name=”OLE_LINK1″span style=”font-size:85%;”(World Trade Interactive)/span/abr /br /Effective January 1, 2009, all goods imported into or exported from China will have to comply with new manifest regulations. According to a December 7 report from the Department of Agriculture, these requirements are contained in the General Administration of Customs’ Decree No. 172, which will replace Decree No. 70 that has been in effect since February 1999. It is too soon to know, the USDA states, if the new decree will significantly impact agricultural trade with China.br /br /According to the report, the general provisions listed in Decree No. 172 focus on standardizing the procedures for customs documents required for goods entering and leaving China, with electronic forms being favored over paper. A total of five documents are required to gain clearance: an application form, samples of bill of lading and shipping order, relevant business stamps, copy of license or certificate of qualifications, and any additional required documents.br /br /The decree also sets minimum requirements for when the documents must be submitted, which vary depending on mode of transportation. For imports, the applicable time periods are 24 hours (ship), 4 hours (plane), 2 hours (train) or 1 hour (vehicle) before arrival at the first port of call. For exports, the specified deadlines are 24 hours (ship, container), 4 hours (plane), 2 hours (ship, non-container, or train) or 1 hour (vehicle) before loading.br /br /The USDA notes that any alterations to the manifest documents must be made before the final submission deadline. The only exceptions are for uncontrollable events, goods being stowed on different vehicles or when the amount of bulk cargo is within prescribed limits.br /br /Go a href=”http://www.strtrade.com/wti/2008/december/16/usda_china_regulations.pdf” target=”_blank”here/a for an unofficial translation of the decree (PDF).

span style=”font-size:85%;”(Washington Post – Steven Mufson)/spanbr /br /Facing its biggest test in a decade, the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries is planning to make a major cut in oil output at a meeting in Oran, Algeria, tomorrow in an effort to stop the slide in oil prices, which have dropped by two-thirds since July.br /br /Confronted by sputtering world oil demand, the cartel is expected to make production cuts of about 2 million barrels a day to reduce the size of world inventories and to boost prices back up to the $75-a-barrel level that Saudi King Abdullah has called reasonable. It will be the group’s fourth meeting in four months as it tries to adjust to the weakening world economy.br /br /“They are going to cut and they are going to cut big,” said Roger Diwan, a partner at PFC Energy, a Washington consulting firm. Even after substantial OPEC output cuts earlier in the fall, world oil inventories “are building much faster than people thought,” Diwan added. Oil stocks are big enough to cover 57 days of supplies, up from the five-year average of 52 days.br /br /Reaching the $75-a-barrel price target could be a tough task, however. U.S. oil demand has been weaker than any time since the economic slowdown that followed the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on the World Trade Center and Pentagon. Even though retail gasoline prices have plunged to a nationwide average of $1.66 a gallon for regular, cash-strapped motorists continue to use less fuel than they did a year ago. The Energy Information Administration is forecasting a 3.4% drop in motor fuel use for 2008, and a bigger drop in oil-based motor fuel after taking rising ethanol use into account. Click a href=”http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/12/15/AR2008121502982.html?hpid=moreheadlines” target=”_blank”here/a for the complete article.

span style=”font-size:85%;”(Industry Week – Adrienne Selko)/spanbr /br /A new study, “Manufacturing in 2020” by Capgemini, examined how manufacturers expect to do business in 2020. Based on responses from over 150 manufacturing companies in eight countries, the study identifies a number of key findings about possible changes in the coming years:br /br /• Manufacturing will become increasingly global by 2020, with around 80 % of manufacturers expected to have multi-country operations, compared with just over half today.br /br /• Supply chains will also increase in complexity and consolidate. Half the companies surveyed said they will be using fewer suppliers by 2020, but 40% said they will be using more distributors as increased competition drives them to reach new markets.br /br /• Manufacturers appear uncertain what actions to take about green issues, but as political and social pressure increases around emissions reduction, urgent action will be required to reach 2020 targets. • Differences between the manufacturing industries in developed and emerging markets will also continue to evolve.br /br /“The manufacturing industry will change significantly over the next ten to twelve years, but with careful planning and preparation, manufacturers around the world can position themselves for competitive advantage,” said Nick Gill, Global Manufacturing Sector Leader, Capgemini.br /br /“Closer collaboration with customers and suppliers and the systems put in place to manage this will be key to future success. In addition, manufacturers should be planning now for the upturn following the current recession and preparing for a more fluid movement of manufacturing between plants. With the complexity of the supply chain predicted to increase significantly along with greater concerns about supply chain disruption, manufacturers must ensure they have the necessary systems in place to support their business.”br /br /Read the a href=”http://www.industryweek.com/ReadArticle.aspx?ArticleID=18028″complete article/a or access the full report a href=”http://www.capgemini.com/resources/thought_leadership/manufacturing_in_2020/” target=”_blank”here/a.

span style=”font-size:85%;”(Today’s Trucking)/spanbr /br /If this keeps up, there might not be a reason for a second bridge at the Windsor-Detroit Gateway after all.br /br /Freight traffic over the world’s busiest border crossing declined by nearly 500,000 trucks through November from 2007.br /br /According to reports, truck traffic on the Ambassador Bridge dropped 14.9 percent to 2.7 million from 3.2 million last year.br /br /The stats were compiled by the Public Border Operators Association, which monitors crossings between Michigan and New York with the province of Ontario.br /br /The Ambassador is forging ahead with a twin span between Windsor and Detroit. At the same time governments on both sides of the border are in the final stages of planning a new bridge abut 3 km downriver of the Ambassador.br /br /The declining trend has been similar at other major Ontario-U.S. border crossings.br /br /The second-busiest crossing, the Blue Water Bridge at Sarnia-Port Huron, Mich. saw traffic total 1,475,979 trucks through November, off 1.75 percent.br /br /At the Peace Bridge between Buffalo and Fort Erie, Ont., declined by 1.78 percent.

span style=”font-size:85%;”(Heath Combs — Furniture Today)/spanbr /br /bDeclaration requirements said “unrealistic”/bbr /br /A compliance officer at a U.S. distribution facility for Swedish retailer IKEAa href=”http://www.furnituretoday.com/common/jumplink.php?target=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ikea.com%2F” target=”_blank”/a said the requirements for import declarations in the Lacey Act, passed last year to combat illegal logging, are unrealistic.br /br /Amendments to the act require importers to declare the origin and species of wood used in their products.br /br /Enforcement for some products affected by the amendments was to have begun on Dec. 15 but was postponed until April 1. Enforcement for wood furniture will begin on July 1.br /br /A comment period for federal rulemaking on the amendments ended this week.br /br /Christopher Smith, a compliance specialist with Ikea Wholesale Inc. in Westhampton, N.J., said in comments posted on a federal Web site that record-keeping requirements in the revised Lacey Act will overwhelm supply chains and cause the cost of wooden goods to skyrocket, unless the regulation is narrowed.br /br /Smith outlined suggestions and challenges to the supply chain for vertically integrated retailers in an 11-page letter.br /br /He said the law would require Ikea to transmit 33.6 billion lines of data over the course of a year if the company were to track wood species from the its network of 1,380 suppliers of components and finished goods in 54 countries.br /br /“Trying to trace this information to certify compliance all the way through the supply chain to the harvesting of each and every tree is unrealistic,” Smith said. Read more a href=”http://www.furnituretoday.com/article/160648-Ikea_official_criticizes_U_S_Lacey_Act.php”here/a and click a href=”http://www.furnituretoday.com/common/jumplink.php?target=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.regulations.gov%2Ffdmspublic%2Fcomponent%2Fmain%3Fmain%3DDocumentDetail%26o%3D090000648073e1c1″here/a to read Smith’s letter.

span style=”font-size:85%;”(American Trucking Associations via Marketwatch)/spanbr /br /The American Trucking Associations announced today the release of American Trucking Trends 2008-2009, an annual state of the industry report. This trucking industry almanac provides essential industry data that motor carriers need to make sound business decisions, especially in tough economic times.br /br /“This report highlights the essential role that safe, reliable and efficient motors carriers play in our nation’s economy,” said ATA President and CEO Bill Graves. “Nearly every good consumed in the United States is put on a truck at some point. Americans need to keep in mind that the national economy is directly linked to an effective transportation industry,” he said.br /br /According to American Trucking Trends 2008-2009 the industry continues to be a major employer in the United States. In 2007, there were 8.9 million people employed in trucking-related jobs; nearly 3.5 million were truck drivers.br /br /Additional highlights from the report include statistics that indicate the trucking industry’s important role in domestic and international commerce. In 2007, trucks transported 57.8 percent of the value of trade between the United States and Canada, up 3.4 percent from the previous year, and transported 66.2 percent of the value of trade between the United States and Mexico, up 4.8 percent. At present, Canada and Mexico rank No. 1 and No. 3, respectively, in terms of U.S. trade partners.br /br /American Trucking Trends 2008-2009 reports that all trucks used for business purposes in 2006 logged 432.9 billion miles. Class 8 trucks accounted for 139.3 billion of those miles, up from 130.5 billion in 2005. In addition, trucks consumed 53.9 billion gallons of fuel for business purposes and paid $37.4 billion in federal and state highway-user taxes. Commercial trucks make up 12.5 percent of all registered vehicles, but paid 36.5 percent of total highway-user taxes in 2006.br /br /American Trucking Trends 2008- 2009 provides information on U.S. truck tonnage, employment numbers, freight revenues, engine sales, modal share and international trucking. Topics explored also include safety statistics, top trailer manufacturers, highway-user taxes, U.S. motor carrier size and distribution, trucking employment by state, fuel consumption and emissions data. Trends contains data from different sources; therefore, the most recent year available may vary. The report can be purchased at ATABusinessSolutions.com or by calling 1-866-821-3468 (toll free). Media should contact Tiffany Wlazlowski at 703-838-1717 or a href=”mailto:twlazlowski@trucking.org”twlazlowski@trucking.org/a.

span style=”font-size:85%;”(Marina Strauss — Globe amp; Mail)/spanbr /br /Early this fall, suitors were knocking on the door at Linens ‘N Things’ Canadian subsidiary. Business was steady, even five months after its U.S. parent had collapsed into bankruptcy protection.br /br /Today, the company’s 40 Canadian stores are being liquidated and the home furnishings chain’s plight serves as a stark example of how quickly the domestic industry has fallen victim to the U.S.-led downturn.br /br /It also bears witness to how subsidiary chains on this side of the border are finding themselves vulnerable to the current squeeze on credit and financing. As such, they could serve as an early warning system for the broader retail sector in a protracted recession.br /br /“I think, unfortunately, their world is going to get a lot worse before it gets better,” said Jack F. Williams, the American Bankruptcy Institute’s resident scholar, of the outlook facing the retail sector on both sides of the border.br /br /“Our two economies are becoming more and more interrelated,” said Mr. Williams.br /br /“In many of these instances, the U.S. counterpart is in financial distress, whereas the Canadian affiliate is reasonably successful.”br /br /“The bankruptcies here in the United States will probably expose [Canadian affiliates’] cash flow to a greater drain,” Mr. Williams said.br /br /More retailers in Canada than ever before are owned by foreign – usually U.S. – players, and more of those owners are struggling in the global economic crisis.br /br /“It appears that Canadian sales trends are rapidly moving to resemble U.S. trends,” Desjardins Securities retail analyst Keith Howlett told investors on Friday. Read more a href=”http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/LAC.20081216.RRETAILS16/TPStory/Business”here/a.

span style=”font-size:85%;”(CBC News)/spanbr /br /Canada would lose nearly 600,000 jobs within five years if the Big Three automakers completely shut down, according to a report prepared for the Ontario Manufacturing Council, an advisory panel of industry and labour representatives.br /br /The 11-page report, which was prepared by the Centre for Spatial Economics, projects a bleak economic picture for the province and the rest of the country if the automakers went out of business.br /br /Effects on employment would be felt right away, the report states, with Canada losing 323,000 jobs if production ceased immediately, 281,800 in Ontario alone, the report forecasts. Those figures would climb in five years to 582,000 jobs nationally in 2014, 517,000 of those in Ontario.br /br /A cut in production by 50 per cent would eliminate 157,400 jobs nationally immediately, 141,000 in Ontario. By 2014, 296,000 jobs would be lost, 269,000 in Ontario.br /br /The depreciation of the dollar, lower interest rates and lower production costs eventually help the economy to partially recover but the loss of the Detroit Three leaves a permanent dent in Canada’s economy in terms of jobs and output, the document says. Read more a href=”http://www.cbc.ca/canada/story/2008/12/16/jobs-auto.html”here/a and view the report a href=”http://www.cbc.ca/news/pdf/omc-autoimpact-b.pdf”here/a (PDF).

span style=”font-size:85%;”(Gary Duncan — The Times)/spanbr /br /Violent unrest may be sparked around the world by a prolonged global slump unless governments act with greater urgency to jump-start stalled economies, the head of the International Monetary Fund said on Monday.br /br /Dominique Strauss-Kahn sounded a stark warning over the consequences of what he argued was weak and uncertain government reaction to the economic crisis. He used a hard-hitting speech in Madrid to single out eurozone nations over what he attacked as an inadequate response.br /br /The broadside from the IMF’s managing director came as fears over a protracted global recession, and political fallout, mounted after China said that its factories’ output registered the weakest growth in almost a decade last month.br /br /Without swifter and more determined action by governments to boost economies, a world recovery could be delayed until late next year or early in 2010, with grave consequences, Mr Strauss-Kahn said. “A lot remains to be done, and if this work is not done it will be difficult to avoid a long-lasting crisis that everyone wants to avoid.”br /br /The IMF has called for governments in leading economies to spend a combined 2 per cent of global GDP, or $1.2 trillion (£1,075 billion), to try to fend off the danger from global recession. “If we are not able to do that, then social unrest may happen in many countries – including advanced economies,” Mr. Strauss-Kahn suggested. Read more a href=”http://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business/economics/article5349277.ece”here/a.